One 35-pound bomb in Brussels attack failed to go off; suicide note found

Two suicide bombers in the terror attacks that killed at least 31 people in Brussels have been named by Belgian state TV RTBF. A manhunt for a third suspect is underway.
VPC

A picture released on March 22, 2016 by the Belgian federal police prosecutor shows a screengrab of the airport CCTV camera showing three suspects of the attacks at Brussels Airport, in Zaventem.(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Belgian police, tipped off by a taxi driver after a pair of terror bombs killed at least 31 people, discovered a bomb-making factory in a Brussels neighborhood and a note left in an abandoned computer by a suicide bomber who feared being swept up in an anti-terror manhunt, officials said Wednesday.

In response to Tuesday's attacks at Brussels airport and a downtown subway stop, Belgian authorities launched a massive manhunt for several suspects they believe are linked to a Belgian terror network and may be preparing to strike again. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the explosions.

Paul Van Tigchelt, head of Belgium’s terrorism threat body, told reporters Wednesday that the country is keeping the terrorism threat level at its highest mark, indicating danger of an imminent attack.

Police are especially keen to find one man seen in a surveillance photo with two other terrorists at the airport Tuesday morning. The man, wearing a hat and light-colored clothing, was pushing a cart carrying a 35-pound bomb, but abandoned it and fled for unknown reasons. Authorities said a higher death toll was avoided because the bomb did not go off. It was later detonated by police in a controlled explosion.

Authorities have not identified the man, but confirmed the names of two of the four terrorists as Ibrahim El Bakraoui, 29, an airport suicide bomber identified by a fingerprint, and his brother, Khalid, 27, who was the subway suicide bomber at the metro station.The two brothers were known to the police for past crimes unrelated to terrorism, RTBF reported.

The man on the left, who also died in the attack, was identified as bombmaker Najim Laachraoui, 24, The Washington Post reported, quoting an Arab intelligence official and a European intelligence official, and the Associated Press, quoting an unnamed European intelligence official and a French police official.

Laachraoui is believed to have made the suicide vests used in the Paris attacks in November that killed 130 people, a French police official told The Associated Press, adding that Laachraoui’s DNA was found on all of the vests as well as in a Brussels apartment where they were made. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.

Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

A New York Police Department officer patrols Times Square on March 22, 2016. New York and Washington stepped up security in the wake of the attacks in Brussels on March 22, deploying counterterrorism reinforcements and the National Guard to airports and stations, officials said. The NYPD said there was no indication that the attacks in Belgium were connected to New York but ordered the steps as America's biggest city of 8.4 million began the morning commute. About 35 people were killed and more than 200 wounded on Tuesday in bombings at the Brussels airport and a metro station in the city that is home to the European Union and NATO. Jewel Samad, AFP/Getty Images

A police car is parked on the arrivals level outside the international terminal of San Francisco International Airport on March 22, 2016. Security was more visible at the airport following the attacks in Belgium. Eric Risberg, AP

A Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer puts his weapon in a police vehicle after patrolling the departure area at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, Canada, on March 22, 2016. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP

Police officers guard the Zurich airport in Switzerland on March 22, 2016. All flights to Brussels are canceled and security measures have been raised following the attacks at Brussels airport and on the metro system. Ennio Leanza/Keystone via AP

New York City Police Department Transit officers patrol a Times Square subway platform on March 22, 2016. Authorities are increasing security throughout New York City following explosions at the airport and subway system in the Belgian capital of Brussels. Richard Drew, AP

Armed British police officers stand guard after Eurostar services were suspended on the Brussels route because of attacks in Belgium, at St. Pancras international railway station in London on March 22, 2016. Matt Dunham, AP

Spanish police officers stand guard in front of the Puerta de Alcala gate in Madrid after security measures were increased following terror attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016. Paco Campos, European Pressphoto Agency

A police officer patrols the Lisbon International Airport in Portugal on March 22, 2016, following the evacuation of the check-in area after a suspicious bag was found. Andre Kosters, European Pressphoto Agency

Passengers look at a sign indicating disruption on the Eurostar at St. Pancras Station on March 22, 2016, in London. Journeys to Brussels were disrupted, terminating in Lille in France, after the morning terrorist attacks in Belgium. European countries vowed to defend democracy against terrorism after blasts at the Brussels airport and at a metro station in the Belgian capital left dozens of people dead and many more injured. Dan Kitwood, Getty Images

Authorities caught a big break when a taxi driver who saw the surveillance photo in the media came forward to direct them to a house in the Brussels neighborhood of Schaerbeek where they discovered a bomb-making factory, complete with explosives, chemicals and nails used as shrapnel. They also found an Islamic State flag.

While scouring the neighborhood, police also found in a trash can the computer containing a suicide note from Ibrahim El Bakraoui.

In the note, which was also written as a partial last will and testament, El Bakraoui expressed concern that he might get caught in a manhunt spawned by last week's arrest in Brussels of Salah Abdeslam, who police say confessed to his role in the Paris attacks.

Abdeslam's lawyer said his client is cooperating with police. Belgian authorities said Abdeslam planned to commit another attack and had a large network of associates.

"Being in a hurry, I don't know what to do, being searched for everywhere, not being safe. If it drags on it could end up with me in a prison cell next to him," El Bakraoui wrote in the suicide note in an apparent reference to Abdeslam.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said one of the suspects, identified by a Turkish official later as Ibrahim El Bakraoui, was deported to The Netherlands in July but Belgium ignored Turkey's warning he was a militant, the Associated Press reported.

The official who later identified the suspect as El Bakraoui also corrected Erdogan’s account to say the suspect had been deported to The Netherlands, not Belgium. El Bakraoui was caught at the Turkish-Syrian border. The official said Turkey warned both Belgium and the Netherlands that he was a “foreign terrorist fighter.”

The official says Dutch authorities later allowed El Bakraoui to go free because Belgian authorities could not establish any ties to terrorism, the Associated Press reported The official cannot be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.

AP also reported the Islamic State has trained as least 400 fighters to target Europe in deadly waves of attacks, deploying interlocking terror cells like the ones that struck Brussels and Paris with orders to choose the time, place and method for maximum carnage.

The officials, including European and Iraqi intelligence officials and a French lawmaker who follows the jihadi networks, described camps in Syria, Iraq and possibly the former Soviet bloc where attackers are trained to attack the West. Some of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the information.

Brussels Airport remained closed Wednesday as investigators continued to gather evidence. Government offices, schools and residents across the country held a moment of silence for the victims.

Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Brussels on Friday to discuss the deadly attacks with top Belgian and European officials.

State Department spokesman John Kirby says Kerry will visit the Belgian capital to "formally express the condolences of the United States for the loss of life" in Tuesday's bombings at the Brussels airport and subway.